'This Is a Further Sign the Brand Has Successfully Ditched the Baggage of its Past': Abercrombie Sees 'Better-Than-Expected' Holiday Sales Abercrombie & Fitch's holiday sales rose 1% to 2%, exceeding expectations of a holiday decline.
By Sam Silverman •
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Abercrombie & Fitch's efforts to lose its logo-riddled apparel and cool-kid-only branding seem to be paying off.
The brand, which has been overhauling its image to promote inclusivity after the company was publicly ousted in the mid-2000s for its sexualized advertising and limited sizing, is on track to see its highest holiday sales period ever.
Abercrombie released its Fourth Quarter Sales Outlook on Monday, showing that the brand saw a rise in net sales between 1% to 2%, after previously predicting a 2% to 4% decline. Following the release of the report, the company's stock rose 9%.
"Abercrombie was a key destination for holiday shopping," said Neil Saunders, an analyst at GlobalData Retail, in a memo to clients, per CNN. "This a further sign that the brand has successfully ditched the baggage of its past."
Although the company was a part of the zeitgeist in the 1990s and early aughts, it declined in popularity following a series of discrimination lawsuits under former CEO Mike Jeffries' direction, according to CNN. As documented in Netflix's White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch, the brand was accused of toxicity behind the scenes and for promoting unrealistic beauty standards.
Since Jeffries left the company in 2014, Abercrombie & Fitch has expanded its size range under current CEO Fran Horowitz.
The brand currently has 225 stores and plans to open 10 more in the next three years. At Abercrombie's height, it had 285 locations.
